Are the .338s becoming pointless?

[5gauss]

.338 wm has worked well on large game for many years at all ranges. like mine a lot and very accurate to 600...max range for me for game animals.....ethics

 

[RH300UM]

The 338RBH and 260 Hammer Hunters combo worked flawlessly at 440 yards for this happy hunter

 

[Snowboy]

I love the .338 caliber but at my age can do without the added recoil therefore I am shooting the .300 WSM now.

 

[RH300UM]

I love the .338 caliber but at my age can do without the added recoil therefore I am shooting the .300 WSM now.

A good muzzle brake tames the recoil a lot
I had a 74 year old shoot my 338 with great accuracy and no complaints about recoil.

 

[Lee Goodwin]

Outstanding post and truly stated.

I want to hang out with J E Custom

 

[Mike Matteson]

Knowing your cartridge and how it's travels down range go a long way in shot placement. Knowing your kill zones on an animal is just as important and how to place that round. Not all shots are going to be broad side either. Knowledge of the animal that you are going to hunt. Where their vitals areas are. How to get that shot placed into those areas. A frontal shot 1/4 toward you, or a rear shot 1/4 away from you. They all can be placed and clean kills. A large part of my shots have been heart shots over the years. I have had them drop in their tract, but most run for a ways, out to as much as 150 yards or there about. It's doesn't matter what rifle you are shooting, They will work, it can limit your shooting distance. So knowing your rifle and how it fly down range is a must along with shot placement. So I totally agree with J E CUSTOM.

 

[5gauss]

Knowing your cartridge and how it's travels down range go a long way in shot placement. Knowing your kill zones on an animal is just as important and how to place that round. Not all shots are going to be broad side either. Knowledge of the animal that you are going to hunt. Where their vitals areas are. How to get that shot placed into those areas. A frontal shot 1/4 toward you, or a rear shot 1/4 away from you. They all can be placed and clean kills. A large part of my shots have been heart shots over the years. I have had them drop in their tract, but most run for a ways, out to as much as 150 yards or there about. It's doesn't matter what rifle you are shooting, They will work, it can limit your shooting distance. So knowing your rifle and how it fly down range is a must along with shot placement. So I totally agree with J E CUSTOM.

yes. heart shots will give them about 15 seconds max before the Oxygen cuts off to the brain. Then down they go no matter how far they have run...

 

[RH300UM]

Knowing your cartridge and how it's travels down range go a long way in shot placement. Knowing your kill zones on an animal is just as important and how to place that round. Not all shots are going to be broad side either. Knowledge of the animal that you are going to hunt. Where their vitals areas are. How to get that shot placed into those areas. A frontal shot 1/4 toward you, or a rear shot 1/4 away from you. They all can be placed and clean kills. A large part of my shots have been heart shots over the years. I have had them drop in their tract, but most run for a ways, out to as much as 150 yards or there about. It's doesn't matter what rifle you are shooting, They will work, it can limit your shooting distance. So knowing your rifle and how it fly down range is a must along with shot placement. So I totally agree with J E CUSTOM.

These 2 bulls were quartering to shots
Bullet placement was at the base of the neck in front of the shoulder. That Hammer bullet traveled 36 inches through my bull Exiting through the last rib on the off side at 450 yards. On the other bull the bullet travel was 28+ inches exiting through the off shoulder at 850 yards. The 440 yard mule deer shot entered just behind the front shoulder. Traveled diagonally for 24+ inches and exited the off side through the rear ham. Shot placement is critical for sure.
I like horsepower also

 

[Mike Matteson]

I didn't have a problem with your shooting. There is a lot of people that don't know what they are doing. Claiming they shot the animal in the heart and it just ran off. Track it for miles and it didn't stop. More than likely it was gut shot. I hit two elk in the heart one morning withing a minute or two. Both reacted the same. The first was a bull I shot, and second was a wounded cow that a friend hit in the guts. The interesting part of that they reacted the same way when I hit them. Their 4 legs shot out to their sides and drop like a rock. I don't know for sure if that normal or not. The bullets were within a 1/2" of being in the same spot on the heart. both hearts were split open from the hit area to the bottom of the heart.

 

[RH300UM]

I didn't have a problem with your shooting. There is a lot of people that don't know what they are doing. Claiming they shot the animal in the heart and it just ran off. Track it for miles and it didn't stop. More than likely it was gut shot. I hit two elk in the heart one morning withing a minute or two. Both reacted the same. The first was a bull I shot, and second was a wounded cow that a friend hit in the guts. The interesting part of that they reacted the same way when I hit them. Their 4 legs shot out to their sides and drop like a rock. I don't know for sure if that normal or not. The bullets were within a 1/2" of being in the same spot on the heart. both hearts were split open from the hit area to the bottom of the heart.

Not a problem here either. My post was to convey my experiences. Not a defensive post.
I welcome your input. I'm always learning

 

[StumpGrinder]

I love the .338 caliber but at my age can do without the added recoil therefore I am shooting the .300 WSM now.

Put a muzzle brake on it. Makes it feel like a 243! I have one on my 338 wm and my 458 SOCOM and I'm thinking about putting one on my 308. At 59 years old I no longer enjoy recoil!

 

[Lee Goodwin]

I didn't have a problem with your shooting. There is a lot of people that don't know what they are doing. Claiming they shot the animal in the heart and it just ran off. Track it for miles and it didn't stop. More than likely it was gut shot. I hit two elk in the heart one morning withing a minute or two. Both reacted the same. The first was a bull I shot, and second was a wounded cow that a friend hit in the guts. The interesting part of that they reacted the same way when I hit them. Their 4 legs shot out to their sides and drop like a rock. I don't know for sure if that normal or not. The bullets were within a 1/2" of being in the same spot on the heart. both hearts were split open from the hit area to the bottom of the heart.

the furthest I've seen deer run, shot thru the heart, and blown up...is 40 yards. The rest swirled and crumpled where they stood.

 

[6.5x300 WBY]

the furthest I've seen deer run, shot thru the heart, and blown up...is 40 yards. The rest swirled and crumpled where they stood.

I shot a doe in the heart years ago with my 50 cal Muzzle loader at like 25 yards. Heart was litterally mush. There was no heart left. Biggest piece if solid heart left was no bigger than a inch. Doe ran 65 yards with incredible MASSIVE blood loss. Seriously dont know how she made it that far.

Some animals are bang flop others make tracks. I do believe if an animal feels its being hunted /on high alert that adrenaline kicks in and they can go way farther than expected.

 

[jimisbell]

That would seem to be an argument for LRS training and taking them at 1000 yards. But you will walk further getting to the target than you would chasing them down at a closer range.....Cant win.